Posted on January 21, 2022 in Divorce

There is no getting around the fact that a divorce will likely have a significant impact on the spouses’ finances. For some divorcing spouses, divorce represents the loss of their only source of income or financial support. Fortunately, divorcing spouses in Illinois may qualify for alimony, or as it is called in Illinois law, spousal maintenance. Read on to learn about Illinois spousal maintenance laws and what you should do if you want to request spousal maintenance during your divorce.

Avenues for Collecting Spousal Support

Spousal maintenance or spousal support can provide much-needed financial aid to divorced spouses. However, spousal maintenance is not a guarantee. There are three main avenues through which spouses can get spousal maintenance in an Illinois divorce:

1. Prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement – If the spouses had made spousal maintenance arrangements in a prenup or other marital contract, those arrangements will most likely be upheld during the divorce. The main exception to this is if the prenuptial agreement or other agreement is invalid. For example, a prenuptial agreement may be invalid and unenforceable if a spouse entered into the agreement through fraud, coercion, or force.

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 Posted on December 16, 2021 in Divorce

One of the most difficult issues to resolve in divorce is small business ownership. For many people, growing their small business has involved an enormous amount of time and personal sacrifice, and the thought of losing the business and shuttering its doors can be devastating. Yet, because the value of many businesses increases during a marriage, the fact is that the increase in value is likely part of your marital property - meaning it is subject to division in divorce. 

Business owners who hope to retain total ownership of their business after divorce will want to learn as much as they can about business valuation methods and how they impact the way a business is treated during divorce. If you are in this situation, read on. 

The Most Common Valuation Methods

There are several ways a business’s value can be determined, and a trained business evaluator can help you choose one based on the type of business you have. The three primary methods of small business valuations are: 

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 Posted on December 07, 2021 in Property Division

The division of property and liabilities is often a complicated and contentious aspect of the divorce process. When spouses own a small business, the issue of property distribution is even more complex. If you or your spouse own a business or you jointly own a family business, you may be unsure of how to handle the business during the divorce. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to business owner concerns during divorce. The way you handle ownership of the business will depend on your specific needs, financial resources, and long-term goals. When deciding how to proceed, consider the following questions.

Who Has Ownership Rights to the Business?

Per Illinois law, marital property is property accumulated during the marriage. However, determining the identity of your business as marital or non-marital is not as straightforward as you may think. If a spouse owns the business before getting married, it is usually considered non-marital property. However, if the other spouse contributed time or resources to the betterment of the business, the business may be considered partially or fully marital.

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 Posted on November 22, 2021 in Family Law

If you are a grandparent, you know just how special the grandchild-grandparent relationship can be. Unfortunately, sometimes, grandparents are not able to have a close relationship with their grandchildren because of conflicts with their own children. If you want your grandchild to be a bigger part of your life, you may have questions about your rights as a grandparent. Can grandparents be prohibited from seeing their grandchildren? Do grandparents have a right to visitation? Read on to learn more.

Illinois Law Regarding Grandparent Visitation

You may be able to get court-ordered visitation with the kids. To do so, you will need to file a petition with the court for grandparent visitation. The court will consider your request if:

• The parents are divorced and at least one of the parents agrees to grandparent visitation

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 Posted on November 04, 2021 in Family Law

Children need adults to keep them safe and help them grow up to be happy and healthy. Typically, a child’s parents are the primary caregivers in a child’s life. However, modern families come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes a child’s grandparent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, or another responsible adult takes on the primary caregiver role. Legal guardianship allows a person other than a child’s parent to assume responsibility for child-related decisions and caretaking.

What Is A Guardian of a Minor Child?

As a non-parent, you may occasionally babysit a child, help make decisions about the child’s education, or assume roles typically assigned to parents. However, being an informal caretaker and a legal guardian are very different things. When you become a child’s legal guardian, you assume certain legal rights and responsibilities not expected of non-guardians.

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 Posted on October 14, 2021 in Family Law

For decades, misconceptions about prenuptial agreements have confused and misled engaged couples. News stories about last-minute celebrity weddings and divorces have led many to believe that prenups are only for the ultrarich or for couples who do not take their wedding vows seriously. Fortunately, these misconceptions are slowly being replaced by the truth that prenuptial agreements are a valuable legal tool for any engaged couple.

Estimates place the divorce rate between 40-50 percent. More and more couples recognize that no one can predict the future and that preparing for the possibility of divorce is an important part of being financially responsible. Prenuptial agreements have increased in popularity among younger couples for several reasons.

Young Couples Understand That There is Always a Chance of Divorce

The last thing a couple wants to think about when they are planning their wedding is the possibility that they will eventually divorce. However, statistics do not lie, and many marriages do ultimately end. Many couples understand that preparing for this possibility does not doom the marriage to failure, just as carrying car insurance does not increase the chances of a car accident.

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 Posted on October 06, 2021 in Child Support

Child support payments are a welcome form of financial assistance for many parents. However, the laws surrounding child support are sometimes difficult to interpret on your own. If you currently pay or receive child support and your child is getting older, you may ask, “When does child support end?” The term “child support” makes it seem as if a parent only receives child support while the child is a minor. However, there are several situations in which child support continues even after a child turns 18 years old.

Do You Still Have to Pay Child Support If the Child Goes to College in Illinois?

Child support orders last until the child turns 18 years old and becomes an adult. However, if the child is still in high school when they turn 18, child support continues until the child graduates high school and turns 19. Many child support orders include an automatic termination date. However, some obligors (paying parents) will need to request a child support modification to terminate child support once the child becomes an adult. If you pay child support, do not assume that your child support obligation automatically ends without confirming the termination date. Failure to pay child support is considered a serious offense in Illinois.

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 Posted on September 27, 2021 in Divorce

Divorce cases vary dramatically in complexity. Spouses with few assets who were not married very long may be able to resolve their divorce quickly and with little court intervention. Divorce is much more involved for couples who own high-value or complex assets and spouses who disagree on divorce issues.

One of the most important aspects of the divorce process is financial disclosure. Spouses are expected to list all of their assets and other relevant financial information. When a spouse does not share this information or the information is incomplete or inaccurate, the spouses’ attorneys may use discovery tools to reveal the truth. Discovery often involves financial concerns such as the division of marital property but discovery may also address child-related issues.

Discovery Tools in an Illinois Divorce

Discovery is the “fact-finding” portion of the divorce case. In order to negotiate the unresolved divorce issues, the spouses and their respective attorneys must have a full understanding of the facts of the case. Discovery varies from case to case but, often, discovery involves:

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 Posted on September 16, 2021 in Divorce

Finances impact a divorce case dramatically. The amount of marital property assigned to each spouse is heavily influenced by the value and types of assets owned by the spouses. Child support payments are calculated using each spouse’s net income. Spousal maintenance is also mainly determined by the spouses’ assets, income, and overall financial circumstances. Consequently, lying about finances can dramatically influence the outcome of a divorce case. Hiding assets, underreporting income, and transferring property to another party are all tactics some divorcing spouses use to manipulate their divorce case.

Ways that Spouses Conceal Assets in a Divorce

There are nearly countless methods for hiding assets in a divorce. Some spouses literally hide cash or property during divorce. They may “sell” assets to friends or family members only to regain the property after the divorce is complete. Other spouses use their business or professional practice to hide income or assets. Unscrupulous spouses may even use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to shield assets from division during divorce by overpaying taxes and reaping a large return in the future.

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 Posted on August 25, 2021 in Uncategorized

Any parent can tell you that having a child dramatically increases your monthly expenses. Housing costs, childcare expenses, tuition, and extracurricular fees are just some of the child-related expenses many parents contend with. It is even harder to cover these costs when you are a single parent. Consequently, financial assistance in the form of child support payments is a crucial necessity for unmarried and divorced parents. However, getting the child support you need can be difficult when the child’s father denies his biological relationship with the child.

What Happens if the Father Says He is Not the Father

Illinois law presumes that, if a woman gives birth, her husband is the baby’s father. However, there is no legal presumption of paternity if the mother is unmarried. Furthermore, relationships are complicated and marital infidelity does sometimes occur. Therefore, there are cases where a woman’s husband is not her child’s biological father. If you are unsure about who your child’s father is or your child’s father is denying his paternity, it is important to understand how this can impact child support.

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